Collection of Carnage


Terry Bogard and the gang's all back for more action.

My import copy of Garou-Densetsu Battle Archives 2 arrived today, to my pleasure. The PS2 disc collects the entire Real Bout series, which includes Real Bout Fatal Fury, Real Bout Fatal Fury Special and Real Bout Fatal Fury 2: The Newcomers. These games, IMO, were the pinnacle of fighting action, art and animation for SNK at one time... the one series I held in as high regard as much as the Street Fighter III games from Capcom.

SNK took their old Fatal Fury games and injected a whole lot of visual flair and personality. It's a great re-telling of the Saga of the Hungry Wolves- street fighter Terry Bogard, his ninja-trained brother Andy Bogard and their best friend, Muay Thai champion Joe Higashi- as they battle up the ladder to reach evil crime boss Geese Howard. Oh, and of course tagging along for the ride is SNK's sex symbol, the bouncy ninja Mai Shiranui and the rest of the colorful Real Bout crew.

The characters and designs are awesome, the gameplay addictive, fast and furious and the overall package just excellent for both action satisfaction and retro-gaming reminiscence. Along with my disc of Streetfighter III Third Strike, this game pretty much completes my Retro-Fighting Library, now all playable on the PS3. The past is now safe in the present and future of gaming. It's just so fun to be a gamer these days. Heh.